Chapter 1212: The True Dharma Body
The reason Yang Haoran, Xu Meijing, and the others instantly retreated without a hint of hesitation was precisely because they knew that once the power within the Death God erupted, it would undoubtedly form powerful energy waves that would spread in all directions. Moreover, these energy waves possessed immense destructive force; if they were to strike their bodies, they would surely inflict a certain degree of damage. Therefore, to avoid taking such a hit, they immediately abandoned their opponents and chose to withdraw without the slightest waver.
How could they dare to hesitate? After all, it was a god, not a human, who was unleashing such powerful energy waves. How could they possibly resist the power unleashed by a divine being? Naturally, it was best to avoid it if possible, lest they lose their lives.
Fortunately, the Death God did not fully unleash all the power within him. Otherwise, those who reacted a little slower wouldn't have merely had blood overflowing from their mouths; they would have been severely wounded even if they didn't die.
The reason the Death God did not unleash all his power was that the vicinity of the Apotheosis Platform contained not only enemies but also allies from their own Yin Division. Thus, he controlled the intensity; otherwise, the power he unleashed would have been even greater, and everyone near the Apotheosis Platform would have suffered gravely.
As everyone was sent flying by the immense power unleashed by the Death God, the energy waves emanating from within the Death God's body did not dissipate; instead, they continuously intensified. This escalating power surge caused the affected area of the energy waves to expand relentlessly.
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Quickly retreat!"
A Spiritualist King sensed that the energy waves released by the Death God were still growing, and at an astonishing speed. He quickly ordered his people to fall back, believing their current position was still too close to the Apotheosis Platform.
He knew that the two god-tier powerhouses would inevitably engage in a grand battle, and the powerful energy waves that would spread from their clash were not something anyone could withstand. Those at their Spiritualist King realm might fare slightly better, but anyone below that realm would certainly be unable to resist the impact of such a massive conflict. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary casualties, he quickly ordered the Grand Spirit Masters nearby to retreat further.
This Spirit Talisman Master's realm was equivalent to a Yin Division Life Soul realm expert, and their status was similar. Putting aside their specific duties and speaking only of their cultivation realm, they were second only to the Talisman Ancestor.
Today, no small number of Talisman Masters came to Snow Fox Mountain to support the Spirit Masters. Besides a considerable number of Gold Talisman Masters, there were even several Spirit Talisman Masters. Although they didn't appear when the battle first erupted, they subsequently arrived at Snow Fox Mountain one after another.
The total number of Spirit Talisman Masters in the entire Talisman Order was not large, and the number of Gold Talisman Masters was also limited. This time, for the Talisman Order to support the Spirit Masters at Snow Fox Mountain, they could be said to have mobilized most of their forces to Snow Fox Mountain, which demonstrates the immense scale of their support.
Of course, the Demon Hunters' support for the Yin Division was equally significant. Besides a substantial number of three-star Demon Hunters, several four-star Demon Hunters also provided assistance. Such powerful support was no less than that of the Talisman Order. However, just recently, a four-star Demon Hunter, disbelieving the hype, forcibly ascended the Apotheosis Platform, only to be killed by the Spirit Masters upon his return. They thus suffered the loss of a four-star Demon Hunter.
While the Spirit Masters and the Talisman Order commanded those of insufficient strength to retreat, the Yin Division and the Demon Hunters likewise ordered their own people to quickly fall back. They knew that the Death God had clearly held back just now. If they didn't retreat further, once the Death God and the Spirit Master False God clashed, the destructive power of the spreading energy waves would be even greater, and whether they would lose their lives then would be hard to say.
Although Yang Haoran was one of the Yin Division's Guardians, he had not yet opened his Life Soul. Furthermore, the strength he displayed in today's battle was only at the late Earth Soul realm. Although he was targeted by some enemy experts, these were all Grand Spirit Masters; no Spiritualist Kings had set their sights on him.
His strength didn't attract the attention of Spiritualist Kings, nor naturally, did it attract the attention of the Yin Division Five Emperors. Therefore, he was not forced into the main fight. He, too, was among the retreating group, as was Xu Meijing, who, like him, had not unleashed her full power and also needed to fall back.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Haoran and the others not only moved away from the Apotheosis Platform but even retreated from Snow Fox Mountain itself. It was precisely because of this that he successfully regrouped with his trusted subordinates. This way, the safety of his subordinates in this grand battle could be better assured. After all, with him watching over them, it wouldn't be easy for just anyone to take the lives of his trusted allies.
Taking a step back, even if their Yin Division couldn't defeat the Spirit Masters in this battle, as long as his trusted subordinates were by his side, he could promptly take them away from here without needing to gather them again. So, this was also a good thing for him.
As for powerful individuals like the Yin Division Five Emperors and the Spiritualist Kings, while they didn't retreat as far as Yang Haoran and the others, they also moved away from the Apotheosis Platform, withdrawing to the outskirts of Snow Fox Mountain.
The appearance of the Death God brought a temporary halt to the heated clashes between the experts of both sides. However, this cessation was only for a brief moment; as both factions moved away from the Apotheosis Platform, the fierce fighting between them resumed.
Originally, the Spirit Master faction wanted to prevent the Death God from interfering with the Spirit Master False God's ascension, and the Yin Division faction also wanted to stop the Spirit Master False God from ascending. But after witnessing the immense energy waves unleashed by the Death God, both sides understood a crucial fact: the battle between gods was simply not something mortals like them could participate in.
In the past, they had harbored some disbelief regarding such accounts, for they all believed their own strength was not weak. Even if it couldn't compare to that of a god, they wouldn't be utterly helpless against a divine being. This thought lingered, especially among those at realms just below that of a god, such as the Yin Division's Life Soul realm and the Spirit Masters' Spiritualist King realm.
They held these thoughts because they had never witnessed the true might of a divine being. Even if they had, it was merely the tip of the iceberg of divine power. Their understanding of how terrifying divine power truly was was limited to what was recorded in ancient texts, and they found these accounts overly exaggerated, thus leading to their doubts.
But now, their doubts on this matter vanished completely, for reality had shown them the truth. Just moments ago, the Death God had only unleashed a fraction of his power, and the resulting energy waves were enough to send them flying. Now, the energy waves emanating from within the Death God's body were even stronger than before, and this surge of power instilled in them a sense of utter destruction. It was simply not something they could contend with. If they forcibly intervened in the impending battle between the Death God and the Spirit Master False God, they would undoubtedly meet a fate where they would be torn to shreds.
Understanding this, both the Yin Division and the Spirit Master faction, by unspoken agreement, abandoned the idea of participating in the battle between gods and refocused on their previous opponents.
The clashes between the high-ranking members of the two factions were merely a small game of skirmishes for the two god-tier powerhouses, the Death God and the Spirit Master False God. Therefore, neither of them paid any attention to it, nor did they focus their concentration there, because they both understood one crucial point: as long as they, as divine beings, emerged victorious, then the ultimate triumph of this grand battle would naturally belong to their side.
After all, a faction without a divine being simply could not contend with one that possessed a god. A single divine being could easily annihilate an entire force. Thus, whichever of them survived would win this grand battle, and even if their respective sides were left with only a few individuals, it would not alter this outcome.
"In our realm, the number of divine beings is already quite substantial, so there's no need for another one."
As the energy waves emanating from within the Death God's body grew stronger, a dense black smoke billowed from his form. This sight was common: whether Yin Division members or Spirit Masters, once their strength reached a certain level, they could manifest this protective Yin Qi on their bodies. However, the protective Yin Qi radiating from the Death God at this moment was somewhat different; it didn't seem to be mere Yin Qi, and the energy waves he unleashed from within his body were also not conventional Yin Spirit Power.
Having remained silent since his appearance, the Death God finally spoke. His very first words clearly stated his objective: he would not permit the Spirit Master False God to become a true god.
As the Death God's words left his lips, a colossal phantom suddenly appeared above his head. A chilling wind howled, and chaotic power churned above him. The phantom rapidly solidified at a visible rate, transforming into an enormous divine statue in the blink of an eye.
This divine statue was seated cross-legged in the void, with a human body and a ghastly, menacing face. It had three arms, three legs, and three eyes. This statue was precisely the Death God's Dharma Body!
When the Death God summoned his own Dharma Body, there was a fundamental difference compared to others summoning his Dharma Body through Ghost Arts. He didn't need to form hand seals or chant incantations; a mere thought was enough to summon it. Furthermore, not only could he unleash the Dharma Body's full power, but he could also control it with far greater flexibility, treating it like an extension of his own body. In contrast, Dharma Bodies summoned by others through Ghost Arts could not achieve any of these points.
Although a Death God Dharma Body summoned via Ghost Art was indeed powerful, the difference between it and the Dharma Body summoned by the Death God himself was a world of difference, completely incomparable.
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